Description

Royal Centre, Nottingham, England 4th April 1984 ULTIMATE SOUND (from Original Masters)

★★ The ultimate masterpiece, remastered by “GRAF ZEPPELIN”. In terms of content, value, and sound quality, there is no other Whitesnake title that is this amazing. An absolute must-have item for all hard rock fans.

　Whitesnake in early 1984, welcoming new-generation hero John Sykes while still retaining the heavy sound of twin guitars with Mel Galley, is being reissued in its finest form. This rare, full-show recording of the “six members of 1984” is set to be released as a permanent, limited-edition 2CD set.

　This album captures the “Nottingham concert on April 4, 1984.” It’s an absolutely superb audience recording made on the date of “4-4-4.” This recording has long been talked about as “the greatest masterpiece of the SLIDE IT IN era,” a legendary recording. Digitized from the original master by world-renowned master engineer “Crazy S.”, and finished with meticulous mastering, it is the ultimate live album.

　Before discussing the quality, let’s first look at the show’s position within the context. As many of you may know, the “SLIDE IT IN Tour” is known for the band’s lineup decreasing from six members to five, then to four, as the tour progressed. Therefore, knowing “when and with what lineup” is critically important. Let’s take a look at the schedule to get an overview of that progression and explore the place of this work within it.

●1984
《January 30th: Release of ‘SLIDE IT IN (UK Mix)’》
・February 17th – April 5th: Europe #1a (28 shows) ←★HERE★
《April 7th: Mel Galley injured》
・April 8th – 16th: Europe #1b (6 shows) ←※DEFINITIVE STOCKHOLM 1984
《April 16th: Release of ‘SLIDE IT IN (US Remix)’ / Jon Lord leaves the band》
・June 30th: ‘ST. GALLEN 1984’
・July 17th – 30th: North America #1 (8 shows) ←※DEFINITIVE SPOKANE 1984
・August 4th – 16th: Japan (8 shows) ←※SUPER ROCK ’84 etc.
・September 12th – November 30th: North America #2 (53 shows) ● January 11th + 19th,
1985 : South America (2 performances) ← *ROCK IN RIO ’85 and others* (January: Cozy Powell leaves the band)

[A legendary recording that testifies to the “miraculous week”]
　This is the overall picture of the “SLIDE IT IN Tour.” As you can see from the number of performances, the main focus of the tour was the “four-member lineup” towards the end, and most of the famous performances, such as Japan’s “SUPER ROCK ’84” and South America’s “ROCK IN RIO ’85,” were from the “four-member lineup” era. In contrast, the “six-member lineup” period, when Mel Galley and Jon Lord were both members, is overwhelmingly rare. This album is a masterpiece from that precious era. Currently, this “six-member lineup” era has also seen the emergence of new masterpieces such as the Glasgow concert soundboard, officially released in the Ultimate Edition of “SLIDE IT IN,” and “WEMBLEY ARENA 1984: LEGENDARY 1ST GENERATION MASTER (Zodiac 646).” Let’s take a closer look at the detailed dates and their relative positions.

■ Details of “Europe #1a”
– February 17th-29th (10 shows)
* March 1st: Glasgow show ← * Official SBD
* March 3rd ‘WEMBLEY ARENA 1984′
– March 4th-20th (12 shows)
《Tour interrupted due to Coverdale’s illness》
– April 1st + 2nd (2 shows)
* April 4th: Nottingham show ← ★This show★
– April 5th: Manchester show
《April 7th: Mel Galley injured》

　These are all 28 performances by the “six-member lineup from 1984.” Although it appears to be a continuous tour, it was actually interrupted midway through, with Coverdale experiencing vocal problems and taking about 10 days off. The official soundboard recordings and “WEMBLEY ARENA 1984” were recorded before the break, but this Nottingham performance was the third show after his recovery. In fact, “April 1984,” following this recovery, is known as a period in which many great performances were produced. After more than 20 performances, the new lineup’s ensemble had perfectly come together, and their condition was at its best after the break. Coverdale’s voice had also fully recovered, and this relief, combined with his determination to make a comeback, was sublimated into the tension of the performance. This recording is sonic evidence of that miraculous week.

[The ultimate recording from the original master by master engineer “Crazy S.”]
　The sound that conveys such a special show is simply outstanding! After all, it was handled by the world-renowned master engineer “Crazy S.”, who is well known to our store. This is a masterpiece among masterpieces, digitized from his original master. The directness of the core that makes you feel no distance, the vividness of the details that are clearly etched into the contours, and the beautiful separation that does not become muddy even when the six musicians are clashing their sounds at full power. This recording has been praised in the past as “indistinguishable from a soundboard” and “the best in the history of Whitesnake,” but this release is a recent re-transfer version that raises the resolution to another level.

　Currently, the “six-member lineup” era is also represented by the highly acclaimed pressed album “WEMBLEY ARENA 1984,” but this album is in no way inferior, making it one of the two greatest masterpieces. Although these two albums are audience recordings, they are on par with—or even surpass—the official soundboard recordings of the Glasgow concert, possessing a naturalness and richness unique to audience recordings.

[The setlist surpasses the official soundboard! A complete edition that forms one of the “two greatest masterpieces”]
　In addition to its incredible sound, another “point that surpasses the official release” is the complete recording of the full show. Let’s compare and organize them here.

●Slide It In
/ Gambler / Guilty Of Love / Love Ain’t No Stranger / Slow An’ Easy / Slide It In
●Classics
– WHITESNAKE: Ready An’ Willing / Here I Go Again / Crying In The Rain / Fool For Your Loving / Don’t Break My Heart Again
– Others: Blindman (★★) / Soldier Of Fortune (★) / Keyboard Solo / Drum Solo (Mars) (★) / Ain’t No Love In The Heart Of The City / Need Your Love So Bad (Thank You Blues)
*Note: Tracks marked with “★” were not heard on the official soundboard recording of the Glasgow concert. Tracks marked with “★★” are especially not included in ‘WEMBLEY ARENA 1984: LEGENDARY 1ST GENERATION MASTER’.

…And that’s how it is. The highlight is definitely the “★” mark. The official Glasgow soundboard recording was also a longer version, but perhaps due to the need to fit it onto one CD, the a cappella part after “Crying In The Rain” was missing, and Cozy Powell’s drum solo featuring Holst’s “Mars” was completely cut. “Blindman” is particularly good. It’s not a full performance and is still a cappella, but it’s a part that wasn’t even heard on the classic pressing album “WEMBLEY ARENA 1984”. While “WEMBLEY ARENA 1984” and this album are two masterpieces that are completely equal in terms of sound, it’s fair to say that this album, which features this passionate masterpiece, is slightly ahead.

　Of course, the performance itself was breathtaking. As mentioned earlier, this was a miraculous show, marking their peak form after a break, and the unity of the six members was perfect. Coverdale’s soaring vocals, Sykes’ sharp guitar playing, and the mature playing of Galley, Lord, Murray, and Powell supporting them all came together in perfect harmony—it was truly the pinnacle of what a “six-piece band” can achieve.

　This is a masterpiece among masterpieces, preserving the legendary “Crazy S.”‘s style with the highest sound quality. Not only is it the finest work of the “six-piece band,” but there is no audience recording that surpasses this one throughout the Sykes era. It is an absolute masterpiece of such high caliber. It is proudly reissued here on a permanent preservation 2CD set.

★ An absolutely superb audience recording of the “Nottingham concert on April 4, 1984.” This is a precious masterpiece from the “1984 Six” era, which also included Mel Galley and Jon Lord. Digitized from the original master by world-renowned master engineer “Crazy S.” and polished with meticulous mastering, this is a top-of-the-line release. It includes Cozy Powell’s drum solo and “Blindman,” which were cut from the official Glasgow SBD, and stands alongside “WEMBLEY ARENA 1984 (Zodiac 646)” as one of the “two greatest masterpieces of the six-member era.”

REMASTERED BY GRAF ZEPPELIN
★Remaster Notes from June 2021
★The remastering has been kept to a minimum.
★The bass has been slightly boosted. Doing too much would increase the humming noise, so it’s a very slight adjustment.Nothing
else has been significantly altered.In terms of the overall waveform, no limiter has been applied, and the waveform is smaller than the previous version.
★The phase has also been left as is because correcting it would shift the performance to the left.
★The disc change position has been changed.

Disc 1 (45:51)
1. Intro.
2. Gambler
3. Guilty Of Love
4. Ready An’ Willing
5. Love Ain’t No Stranger
6. Here I Go Again
7. Slow An’ Easy
8. Crying In The Rain
9. Blindman/Soldier Of Fortune

Disc 2 (44:59)
1. Member Introduction
2. Keyboard Solo
3. Drum Solo feat. Mars
4. Ain’t No Love In The Heart Of The City
5. Fool For Your Loving
6. Need Your Love So Bad/Thank You
7. Slide It In
8. Don’t Break My Heart Again
9. We Wish You Well

David Coverdale – Vocal
John Sykes – Guitar
Mel Galley – Guitar
Jon Lord – Keyboards
Neil Murray – Bass
Cozy Powell – Drums